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Who runs Umhlabuyalingana?

TS Khumalo (IFP) is (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of Umhlabuyalingana, as of 30 Jun 2025. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won more than half of the (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) in Umhlabuyalingana.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Which party controls the council?

Voters choose the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.). The council chooses the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.).

Cllr T.S. (Thembinkosi Sibusiso) Khumalo is mayor, according to the financial statements for the year to June 2025. Khumalo was elected as an IFP (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) in 2021. The IFP governs with help from smaller (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) (TimesLIVE, February 2025). In 2021, no party won more than half of the 39 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). The ANC had 18 seats and the IFP had 15. The IFP won (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) 19 in 2023 and ward 15 in February 2025 from the ANC. Both were by-elections (a vote to fill one empty ward seat). A ward is an area with its own councillor. By our count of by-election results, up to June 2026, the IFP now has 17 seats and the ANC has 16.

What the sources said, by date

  1. As of 30 Jun 2025

    Cllr TS Khumalo was executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions). This is from the audited annual financial statements (accounts checked by an auditor) for the year ended 30 June 2025. They do not state the party.

  2. This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.

    As of 13 Feb 2025

    The IFP controls the Umhlabuyalingana (Municipality The local government for your area. It looks after local services, such as water, rubbish removal and local roads. There are 257.) with the help of smaller parties. The EFF is not one of these parties. It votes with the ANC. The IFP beat the ANC in a ward 15 by-election in February 2025.

  3. As of 9 Nov 2021

    In 2021, Thembinkosi Sibusiso Khumalo was elected in uMhlabuyalingana as an IFP proportional representation councillor. A PR councillor is a councillor a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes. Khumalo was number 4 on the list.

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How were the seats split?

Who holds the 39 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. A (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs 20 seats to run the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) on its own. No party has that many. So parties must work together to choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) and pass the budget.

  • IFP17
  • ANC16
  • EFF2
  • Abahlali Base Mkhanyakude Movement1
  • ACDP1
  • DA1
  • 1 other party1

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 20. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the other party, with 1 seat. One party has no colour on record, so it is grey too.

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What has the council done?

We have not checked any claims about this (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) yet. That is not a mark for or against it.

Core servicesWater, lights, rubbish and roads: what your council runs.No checks yet

Housing and landHouses, informal settlements and title deeds.No checks yet

Safety and jobsCrime, metro police and work in your area.No checks yet

Governance and moneyCorruption, audits and budgets: how your council uses your money.No checks yet

What the official records say

From the Auditor-General and the national government. Every council gets the same checks. A council that is not on a list shows no row.

The Auditor-General gave Umhlabuyalingana an unqualified audit opinion with findings for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.

This means its accounts were right, but the Auditor-General found other problems, such as broken laws or weak reports on its work.

Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026

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Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?

Umhlabuyalingana has 20 (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.). You can only vote at the (Voting station The place where you vote, often a school or a hall. You can only vote at the one where you are registered.) where you are (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.).

Pick what matters to you and see which parties promised it, with a link to where it said so.

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